Heart For Art
My children and I love that art can fill a void and colour our world. When there are no words to describe fears or hopes, art reveals what we can’t say and unburdens us. Personally, I feel this is especially helpful in managing depression & dementia (Forget Me Not). Aside from art appreciation and therapy, I am particularly excited by collaborations involving art. So when I learnt about the charity auction for Rainbow Centre, I was keen to find out more.
Rainbow Centre X Pilot Pen
From their website https://www.rainbowcentre.org.sg/ , I discovered that Rainbow Centre empowers people with disabilities through training programmes. They also support them through collaborations, creating opportunities that highlight their abilities. One such partner is Pilot Pen. For their 100th anniversary, Pilot Pen Singapore launched limited edition pens by four student artists from Rainbow Centre. They were invited to create artworks based on their stories and aspirations. Subsequently, these were digitalized and featured on the barrels of limited edition pens.
Colour Our World
Who are these students? What life experiences inspired their creations? I learnt three of them have autism spectrum disorder and one has cerebral palsy.
Colours On My Mind
Bill dreams of working in a bakery, making cakes & pastries. As he is inspired by shapes and television, his art has mesmerizing geometry and powerful colors. These photos show Bill at work, his creations on mixed media, as well as the pen derived from these.
Kaleidoscopic
As for Shahfiq, he hopes to work in a café. He loves music and his colourful, intricate art simply radiates pure happiness. You can feel the positive energy in his lampshade and plate.
My Heart Fills the Universe
When you look at Noah’s art, you know immediately that his inspiration is Romero Britto. He himself aspires to become an artist, to shine a light on talent people with autism have. His canvas is so merry, it makes M5 smile. Also, I’m happy to report that his vase is currently going at $500, a hundred dollars over the minimum bid.
Into The Blue
Although Danial has cerebral palsy, he isn’t going to let that hinder his ambition of being a photographer. His art is inspired by the blue ocean because it evokes deep emotion in him. Danial considers the limitless wonder of the sea and ponders freedom. I’m delighted to note that his plate has already been sold. However, his lampshade is still available.
Let’s Dream In Colour
Both the original art pieces and the limited-edition pen sets are for sale until 31 October. You can either bid for the original artworks or purchase the pens, via the “Colour Our World” microsite. http://www.pilotpen.com.sg/rainbowcentrecolourourworld 100% of the funds raised from the auction (minimum bids range from $200-$400) and sale of pen sets ($10 each) will go to Rainbow Centre’s student programmes.
Other than raising fund-raising, this collaboration provides exposure for future employment opportunities. More importantly, it gives them confidence. Often for people with autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy, their disabilities distract from what they can do. Therefore, let’s encourage these young talents. They’ve drawn us their dreams, now let’s colour them in.
